Light Chinchilla
-An explanation of seal and sable-
First we should know the order of dominance on the C loci.
CC, Cchd, Cchl, Cch,Cc; no change chdchd, chdchl,chdch,chdc: chinchilla chlchl: seal, often mistaken for sable. chlch,chlc: sable chch,chc; Himalayan aka pointed white cc: red eyed white
The expression of sable, seal and Himalayan are highly subject to visible coloration fluctuations due to weather
Chinchilla can also alter to a more moderate often missed degree.
When the weather is warm a seal and sable coat becomes bright and may even become spotted if parts of the rabbit are more cool that others.
A Himalayans points fade a bit and become less clean in warm weather.
When kept in a cool environment the coat becomes rich and dark.
During molting rabbits may appear to have vitiligo as hair turns white.or cream in patches and begins to shed.
At birth it's important to note sable kits have an almost lilac appearance with otter patterning as the weeks go on kits will turn to a solid of their base color (dilute, Chocolate, lilac, black) if they are seal. With sable they appear to shift to a lighter hue of the base almost diluted variant of the base as an example a black based will appear blue with a black muzzle as they age this color will shift to the adult coloration.
Note sometimes dilute can be mistaken for dilute sable due to darker pigmentation at the face and ears however the easiest difference to spot is eye coloration.
Sables and seals have a red hue over the eyes as a result sometimes scanning is possible.
A self chinchilla, a rabbit with the chinchilla gene without either otter or Agouti ( aa chd) will sometimes express normal brown eyes or what is called chinchilla grey these rabbits do not have a red hue.
Self chin and black are often mistaken for seal with is a deeper richer form of sable further often different base pairings, poor Rufus and exposure to heat can damage the presentation of a seal coat and make it appear sable.
A seal or sable with dilute is often labeled simply Smoke Pearl.(aa dd chl)
A seal or sable with otter is often listed only as Sable martenized. (at chl) this rabbit will express like sable but with a silver otter pattern
Sable point is often also mistaken for being only a hetero form. (aa chl ee)
Chocolate sable is also often mistaken. but it should.be noted these gene as well as Vienna are not recommended together in the same bloodline as.it alters eye coloration in show lines making eyes appear purple. (bb chl )
A sable agouti aka shagouti is essentially a false chinchilla the easiest time to differentiate is before the eyes open and then as they get older if you can spot the red hue to the eye. This cross will have "leakage" of brown into the chinchilla coloration in some but not all cases.
Sallander another where the difference is lost on inspection.( A chl ee)
It should be noted of the varieties on the C loci sable seems the hardest to achieve as it does not breed true.
This means if you breed a sable to a sable you won't get, just sables you will get whatever other gene the sable had, seal and sable.
To get a litter entirely of sables you must breed a seal to either a Himalayan or a red eyed white.
To best maintain the appearance of a sable or seal rex coat for show it is recommended that rabbits be kept in a cool and dark environment .
A proper seal coat should not have signs of a humidio burn to appear seal to be frank this is often a self chinchilla or a humidity burned self. Look at the eyes for confirmation.
As sometimes tort is mistaken for sable I will say the difference is in expression at birth and through maturity as a tort will express a shade of red as the main body and it's base color as points as it grows a sumi like pattern at the side of two shades of red will merge into a smooth coloring. Tort rabbits will not have a red hue to the eye.
Tort genotype ; aa C ee
Written by bonfires fireside farm and rabbitry
